Happy National Wine Day! Here are five interesting facts about the ancient fermented beverage:

1. During the Prohibition era (1920-1933), some vineyard owners stayed in business by selling "wine bricks" under the guise of grape juice. The bricks dissolved in water and fermented into wine. The instructions were actually printed on the bricks' packaging as a precaution: “After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it will turn into wine.”

Advertisement

2. A 2017 Harris poll found that wine was the top drink of choice for 46 percent of American women. The survey also discovered that 42 percent of adults over the age of 65 preferred wine, and 37 percent of high income households (over $100,000 annually) reached for a glass on a regular basis.

3. Snake wine is served in China, Vietnam and parts of Southeast Asia, a concoction that infuses whole snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. The drink was once touted as a cure-all for illnesses.